Reciprocating drive mechanism for automatic selectors and similar devices



' Aug. 8, 1950 G. DEAKIN RECIPROCATING DRIVE MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC SELECTORS AND SIMILAR DEVICES 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 19, 1946 INVENTcSR.

Gem/d Dea/rin ATTORNEY Aug. 8, 1950 G. DEYAKIN RECIPROCATING DRIVE MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC SELECTORS AND SIMILAR DEVICES Filed Feb. 19, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Gerald Beak/n BY I ATTORNEY Aug. 8, 1950 x a. DEAKIN 2,517,546

RECIPROCATING DRIVE MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC SELECTORS AND SIMILAR DEVICES Filed Feb. 19, 1946 4.Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR. Gem Dear/rm AT TORI V15 Y Aug. 8, 1950 DEAKIN 2,517,546

RECIPROCATING DRIVE MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC SELECTORS AND SIMILAR DEVICES Filed Feb. 19, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F74 lZ m Z0 Fig. 20 H9. 2/. m n w x 47h 5 47a 46a 0 fizz a I 54,

{VG- m ii J Lg INVENTOR.

Gem/d Dea/rin ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 8, 1950 RECIPROCATING DRIVE MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC DEVICES SELECTORS AND SIMILAR Gerald Deakin, New York, N. Y., assignor to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application February 19, 1946, Serial No. 648,760

6 Claims. (01. 7437) The present invention relates to means for driving reciprocatory carriages such as brush carriages of selector switches, for example switches of this character used in automatic telephone systems as finder switches, group selectors, final connectors, marking switches or the like.

Furthermore, the invention relates to driving, means of the character wherein the reciprocatory carriage is connected alternately to parallel, oppositely moving reaches of an endless belt moving in one direction during each period of operation. More particularly the invention relates to driving means of said character wherein the connecting means includes a rotatable clutch member and the change from one reach to the other is effected by step-by-step movement of the said rotatable clutch member due to the continuous movement of the belt when the movement of the carriage i arrested.

This invention is claimed broadly in my copending application Ser. No. 648,759, filed February 19, 1946, and which issued as Patent No. 2,510,084 June 6, 1950.

An object is to provide for a reciprocatory brush carriage or the like, a flat-belt drive of the endless or continuous belt type which is novel and advantageous in construction and operation, which is easy to assemble and economical to manufacture, and which will operate satisfactorily over long periods of service with a minimum of attention.

Another object of the invention is a novel and advantageous reciprocatory carriage drive which is of simple construction and which will operate quietly and positively.

Another object is to provide for a reciprocatory carriage a novel and advantageous endless belt drive wherein the belt is fiat and the means for grasping alternately two parallel reaches of the belt acts yieldably on said belt.

Another object is to provide for a reciprocatory carriage a novel and advantageous endless belt drive wherein there is a rotatable member having three toothed grasping devices equally spaced therearound and effective one at a time to press the belt against a resilient support; and checking of the carriage while the belt continues to move starts rotation of said rotatable member to start release of the effective grasping device and engagement of the other reach by the grasping device in advance thereof, the two grasping devices working together until the first is released and the second is fully engaged.

A further object of the invention is to provide for a reciprocatory carriage, an endless belt drive 2 including a clutch having toothed engaging portions and which will work equally well for either direction of drive for the belt, in coupling the garriage alternately to two parallel reaches of the alt.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear upon consideration of the following detailed description and of the drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary section as seen from above, illustratin an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view illustrating the rotatable clutch device engaging both reaches of the fiat belt but about to release the upper reach and to complete the clutching of the other reach.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the transfer of the clutching action to the outer reach of the belt completed;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view on a larger scale showing the rounded ends of the teeth of each rotatable clutch member;

Fig. 5 is a view on a larger scale of the clutch means in the central part of Fig. 1;

6 is a section taken along the line 6-6 of Fig.

Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a view looking at Fig. '7 from the right;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the sheet metal clutch support with downturned flanges at two opposite locations to support the reaches of the belt against pressure by the rotatable clutch device;

Fig. 10 is an end view of the structure of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a back plate which interlocks with the clutch support;

Fig. 12 is an end view of the structure of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a top plan view of an end member of the rotatable clutch device;

Fig. 14 is a top plan view of one of the toothed clutching disks;

Fig. 15 is a top plan view of the filler between two toothed clutching disks; and

Fig. 16 is a top plan view of the dished clamp engaging the lower toothed disk and having fingers extending upwardly through aligning recesses in the other members of the rotatable clutching device.

Fig. 1? is a view on a larger scale of another embodiment of the clutching means in the central part of Fig. 1;

Fig. 18 is a section taken on the line l8l8 of Fig. 1'7;

Fig. 19 is a section taken on the line i9--I9 of Fig. 18;

Fig. 20 is a section through another embodiment of the clutching disk;

Fig. 2.1 isatop. plan view of, the clutching disks shown iniF-i'g; 20';

Fig. 22 is a top plan view of a disk forming part of the clutching device; and

Fig. 23 is a top plan view of disks arranged adjacent to the clutch disk;..

Referring more particularly tovFigs; 1, 7 and 8, a frame it of a brush carriage H is mounted to slide along two fixed horizontal gu ides-or.-v Said guides. or. guide.

rods I2 (Figs. 7 and 8). rods I2 are secured at their ends to frameemembers I3 and M which may form part of a casing I in which the brush carriage" I I isreciprocated;

Said brush carriage H carries brush ;me,ans

The fiat terminal bank I9 is mounted between vertical frame elements 39 and Gill to which casing ends I3 and M, respectively, are secured. Other banks l9 may be mounted above or below the bank shown in Fig. l, and by merely turning-thegbanks; the brush carriages and the driving means of a unit upside down, all of these parts could be used on the opposite side of the bay. If the gear 34 were used to drive a unit on the ide, ofthe bay opposite to that shown to1be in use in, Fig. l; the pulley 24 would be below the associated flexible gear 32 and the corresponding banks is at opposite sides of the bay would be at difierent levels.

The structuregthus far described is similar to structure descibed and claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 648,759, filed February 19, 1946.. However, the endless belt in said copending application is round whereas i the instant application the belt is fiat and the grooves in the peripheries o-fpulleysil, .22 and Z i'are shaped to accommodate said flat belt 20.

According .to the present invention, the clutch support l5 constitutes part'of a novel and ad vantageous. device for alternately gripping parallel reaches ofthe endless flatbeltzil and causing the brush carriageto be reciprocated; The gripping device is especially adaptedtoacton a belt of.'fiat cross section,

or. p.ulley s 2,2 ,and thendivergelthroughuopenings 23 ,in ,said 1frame. or; casing member I3 to the outsidelbf the casing. Outside oijthe casing is, the belt 29 passes around a largedriving pulley 0r: wheel 24: fixed. on ashort or. stub shaft- 25 i mna'lledin a bracket 26; constituting part of the frame of the assembled apparatus. Thebe1t may. be. kept a tbv pivotally mounting. pulley 2] .on aframej'l pivoted ,at- 28 andurged in theproper direction by means of. a compression spring-29andascrew 29aior adjusting the tension of the,spring. Thescrew may be held in ad usted positionby means of. a, lock nut 30.

The pulley 2,4 varound.which.the beltzt passes is driven by suitable clutch mechanism froma vertical, shafts! which, is. motor driven in a manner that is; well... known in so-cal1ed rotary telephone exchange systems. For. example; this clutch mechanism is. Similar. to. clutch mechanismsalready; in. useandcomprises a thin fi.ex-. ible gear 32 fixed to the lower end of stub shaft 33.

Apgear. 3 3*! is secured. on. shaft. 3! to. rotate therewith and to mesh with flexible gear. 32 Whichmay however b.e,fiexed to... disconnect it from gear 34. Gear 34 may be in the formv of a. thin disk. and. may; be mounted between stifiener disks (not shown). The clutchgiscon: trolled..by a,clutch..magnet' 3'5' mountedon a flange or bracket 26 with its pivoted armature 36.. at the, bottom thereof... An arm 31, extends from the armature to a,-.poin t.beneath thefiexe ible. -gear. 32.. near. the. point. of engagement of the two gears. and, when moved upwardlyby a suitable spring,.38,.,will fiex ar .32 out ofjmesh withgeartli. Upon energization .of. the mag-- net e. g. as a result of starting acallordialing,

The frame it. comprises astiffdnner platet with projections providing downwardly facing half-bearings engaging the'lower guide I2and upwardly, facing. half bearings engaging the upper guide I2 (Fig. 7) Ahorizontal fiange' l'lproe jects from the plate 'ib'intermediate-its upper and lower edges and thisfiange is' provided withan upwardly projecting -barrel 48 to accommodate a vertical cylindrical bore 49 to receive thethread ed shank of a bolt 50 to. secure to said' fiange 41 a clutch support I6; and to provide a bore-5| to. accommodate a ball 52 and a spring 53 ofa ball detent; The bolt 5Il has-a threaded shank 5d, a head.55 and adjacent said heada cylindrical spacing portion"orspacer'dtwhich is ofgreater diameter than said shank andprovidesa shoulder 51.

Resting on'said head55 and fitting on-said'cy lindrical spacer-561s a dished disk 58'having-upwardly extending fingers 59. Above said disk-Eil and resting thereon is a rotatable clutch device 60 which comprises a lower clutch diskBI (Fig. 1,4) having notches 62 to receive said fingers 59, an upper, clutch disk SI, and a spacer'fiti between said disks and'provided with notches 64', to receive saidfingers 59..

Abovesaid upper clutch disk 6| is a cover-disk 65. also provided with. notches 66 to receive said fingers 59 and. having in addition six frustoconical passages 61. to receivethe lower portion of the ball 52 in accordance-withthe various 'po-'- sitions of the'rotatableclutch'device lit. Above the cover disk 63 isa back frame 38 comprising a plate 69.with a holefm to fit over the shank 64 with the plate resting against saidshoulder-W. The plate 69 also hasa tapered opening II to receive partofsaid ball 52. Atthe EIldIOf said platev there are side, extensions l2 with downturned ends-T3 at theinner sides. of thereach'es of the belt to keep them spaced apart.-

Resting on said plate 69 is a plate I4 of-a frame 15. In saidplate is an opening 'lfi to receive'said shank 54 and an opening 11 to receive said ball 52. Flanges I8 extending downwardly at the side edges of plate 1 3 support the reaches-of the belt '2 0 "againstputward pressure.

The parts mounted on bolt 50 can be removed from the frame merely by removing the unit 82 and withdrawing it from the apparatus. This operation may be reversed in assembling the parts of the machine.

With the apparatus in operation Fig. l and with the brush carriage attached to a reach of the belt moving toward the left (Fig. l), the travel of the carriage will continue until it strikes a buffer 81. Then the pull of the lower reach will cause the rotary clutch device 60 to turn clockwise first to the position shown in Fig. 2. Before the teeth are raised from the lower reach, a set of teeth at the front of the rotatable device will engage the upper reach. Then the rotatable device will be turned by both reaches of the belt and finally the upper reach will serve to drive the brush-carrying device, and downward displacement of the reaches of the belt is guarded against by fingers 19 extending inwardly from the lower edges of said flanges. In the ends of the plate M are recesses 80 to receive fingers 8| projecting upwardly from plate 69. By means of a nut 82 threaded on shank 54, the plates 69 and 14 are firmly clamped against flange 41, leaving other parts to turn freely on cylindrical part 56.

The Spring 53 of the ball detent is held under compression by a washer 83 which covers the upper end of bore Said washer 83 fits over the upper end of said shank 54 and is clamped in position by nut 82.

Each clutch disk 6| has three equal toothed lobes or projections 84 between said notches 62. The teeth 85 of each projection are in an arc of a circle of a radius which is substantially less than the distance from the teeth to the center of said disk. The sets of teeth are highest at the middle thereof and the disks can therefore be used for either direction of movement of the belt. Said teeth 85 have rounded ends as clearly shown in Fig. 4, thus reducing wear on the belt.

The toothed disks exert an unyielding outward pressure on the belt when the toothed portions engage the same. To relieve this condition the supporting flanges [8 are provided with inwardly arched springs 86 to give yielding support to the reaches of the belt. Each of these springs has inturned ends entering slots in said supporting flanges.

The belt 20 may be made of textile strands woven or braided in the desired shape and impregnated with suitable material, for example a plastic such as neoprene. Although the belt has been described as flat, it will be evident that so long as the inner side of the belt is flat the outer side may be shaped otherwise.

When one of said toothed projections is in clutching engagement with the belt 20 the teeth are forced into the belt to some extent and effect a strong connection between the carriage and the belt. This connection is supplemented by frictional engagement between a gripped portion of the belt and the belt-backing supports on the carriage.

The operation is as follows: In Fig. l the carriage H is being drawn to the left by the lower or inner reach of the belt 20. At the left end of its path, the carriage will be stopped by engagement with stop 81. However, the belt continues its movement and the pull of the lower reach will overpower the detent means and turn the rotatable clutch device or element 60 in a clockwise direction and move the toothed projection in advance thereof into engagement with the upper reach. Then the rotatable device will be turned by the pull of both reaches until the lower set of teeth (Fig. 2) moves out of engagement with the lower reach. As soon as the upper set of teeth reaches its full engagement position the ball detent will become effective and the carriage will move to the right. When the carriage reaches the right end of its path the rotatable member 60 will be given another 60 turn and the carriage will move to the left.

In Figs. 1'7 through 23 there is shown a still further simplified form of clover leaf clutch for a flat belt, or a belt with a flat inner face wherein the clover leaf or rotatable clutch element may be compressed as well as or instead of the belt or the belt support which may be called a back stop. For example, the body of the clover leaf may be made of normally soft, elastic material, for example, normally soft neoprene. A rotatable clutch device of this character would provide a strong connection between the carriage and the belt, either with or without the detent means.

As illustrated, there is mounted on two parallel guides or rods iZa, a carriage Hid adapted to carry a brush unit. This carriage comprises a central plate 46a having a projection 46?) on which is secured by screws 471) a member 41a carrying the clutch. The member 41a is provided with an upwardly extending barrel 48a to accommodate a vertical cylindrical bore 49a to receive the threaded shank of a bolt Ella to secure to said member 41a a clutch support 16a and to provide a bore 51a to accommodate a spring 53a and a detent ball 52a. The bolt 56a has a threaded shank 54a, a head 55a and adjacent said head a cylindrical spacing portion or spacer of greater diameter than said shank and provides a shoulder 51a.

Resting on said head 55a and fitting on said cylindrical spacer is a disk 58a on which rests a clutch member Sla of yieldable elastic material such as neoprene on a bushing or sleeve 61b which fits on spacer 56a. The clutch member has three uniformly spaced clutching projections 840. with lower portions therebetween. Above said clutch member Gla is a disk 68a having six frusto-conical openings 61a to receive ball 52a.

The parts 58a, 61a and 68a may be secured together by rivets 6 lo.

Above said shoulder 51a is a base plate 14 of the frame [6a which has downwardly extending flanges 18a constituting belt supports or back stops, the one at the right (Fig. 18) being shown with belt supporting fingers 19a. The spring 53a of the ball detent is held under compression by a washer 83a which fits over the upper end of shank 54a. When the nut 82a is tightened the frame lBa is clamped between shoulder 51a and member 41a.

With the exception of the action of the rotatable clutching element on the belt, the operation of the clutch of the second form of the device is substantially the same as for the first form. The toothed-belt-engaging portions of the rotatable clutching element of the first form serve to provide a strong hold on the flat inner surface of the belt but at the same time the belt is subjected to greater pressure where engaged by the rounded ends of the teeth. The clover leaf of the second form has compressible elastic belt-engaging portions of material such as normally soft neoprene. These compressible portions tend to flatten out along the belt and have a strong hold on the belt due to the frictional engagement therebetween.

Both disclosed forms of the invention are especially adapted for use with flat belts or belts animus;

withzfiat: inner? surfaces; However,:. both forms mighti'zbe adapted:.for' -use with. other forms. of,

belts:

It .should: be:-understood. that certaiti'achanges may -be;made and that certain .features may 'be used.-without others,; without departinggfromthe truescopeand spirit of the inventions.

What I claim is:

1. In a reciprocatinggdriveimechanism; axre ciprocatory carriage, rectilinear: guiding: means therefor. a horizontally extending; endless flat driving belt therefor driven in 1one:direction;.and

havingroppositely driven; parallel ireaches parallel:;to said'gm'dingzmea-ns; and clutching means on.;said icarriage including. belt supports :outside of. said. reaches, a pivot midwaybetween said reaches.and:perpendicular; to the plane thereof, said-:pivot being; in the formofaholthavinga heada-and .an. upwardly extending; part comprising a-cylinder adjacent saidhead. anda reduced.

2.'-The combination according to claim. 1 30 2,412,079

wherein; detent. meansiare provided .forrholding said. rotatable; device against. said... reaches-5.

means onthe-carriage.

3. The combination according to. claim 1'; wherein said reaches are yieldablygsupportedm against outward movement by, means on. said:carriage.

4. The: combination according. toclaim. 1 wherein eachofsaid belt supports comprisesan inwardly sprung spring. extending a1ong .;.the=corresponding reach .and connectedz at: its; ends-to saidcarriage.

5. The combination. according, to claim. l,- wherein there are two. parallel rowsz-of teeth in each set.

6.. The-.- combination. according. to claim: 1

wherein the teeth. are on coaxial disks and-the teethineach. set are arranged inparallel rows corresponding to theindividual disks:

GERALD. DEAKIN.

. GITED:

The following references. are: of 7 record 11mins file of this patent:

UNITED' STATES" PATENTS'I Number. Name. Date:

1,774,356. Cloud .Aug; 26,1930 2,197,501 Holden Apr. 16, 1940 Brustowsky. Dec.. 3, .1946 

